1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a plasma display apparatus and, more particularly, to a plasma display apparatus in which the formation of non-overlapping regions between front and rear substrates of a panel is optimized to realize a more compact overall structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) provided in a plasma display apparatus is a display device that realizes the display of images through excitation of phosphors by plasma discharge. That is, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) rays emitted from plasma obtained via gas discharge excite phosphor layers, which then emit visible red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light to thereby form images. The PDP has many advantages, including the ability to be made in large screen sizes of 60 inches and greater, a thin profile of 10 cm or less, a wide viewing angle, good color reproduction due to the self-emissive nature of the PDP (as in the case of cathode ray tubes), and high productivity and low manufacturing cost as a result of manufacturing processes that are simpler than those involved with liquid crystal displays. As a result, the PDP is experiencing increasingly widespread use in the home and in industry.
The plasma display apparatus has the following basic structure. A chassis base, which is made of a sturdy material with a high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, is sandwiched between a PDP and drive circuits. The drive circuits generate signals for operating the PDP. A front cover is mounted on a front surface of the PDP, and a rear cover is mounted on a rear side of the drive circuits, thereby completing fabrication and assembly of the plasma display apparatus.
The PDP is classified as a DC-type device or an AC-type device depending on the drive voltage waveform applied thereto, and is further classified as an opposing discharge-type device or a surface discharge-type device depending on the structure of the discharge cells and the formation of the electrodes in the PDP.
In the AC-type, surface discharge-type PDP, which is the most common configuration, sustain electrodes, scan electrodes and address electrodes interact to effect plasma discharge in the PDP, thereby realizing the display of images. The sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes typically extend to right and left areas of the panel, and are connected to drive circuits provided in the rear of the PDP through an electrical coupling means, such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC). The address electrodes extend to upper and/or lower areas of the PDP, and are connected to drive circuits in a manner similar to connection of the sustain and scan electrodes. Accordingly, terminal sections of all of the electrodes are exposed at edge portions of the PDP so as to allow for connection with FPCs. The front and rear substrates of the PDP, which are sealed in positions opposing one another, are made in different sizes such that non-overlapping regions are formed along edges thereof.
In conventional PDPs, such non-overlapping regions are symmetrically formed such that their widths are identical between the upper and lower areas of the PDP, as well as between the right and left areas of the PDP. In the triode surface discharge PDP, the scan electrodes are individually separated since these electrodes are involved in reset and addressing discharge. In contrast, the terminals of the sustain electrodes are provided in close proximity and are all shorted. Therefore, although the non-overlapping regions must be provided with a substantial width in the areas of the terminals of the scan electrodes, this is not the case with respect to the areas of the terminals of the sustain electrodes.
Furthermore, when single scanning is employed, as opposed to dual scanning wherein the address electrodes extend to both upper and lower areas of the PDP, it is not necessary that non-overlapping regions be provided on the side where the address electrodes do not extend. Thus, such symmetrical formation of the non-overlapping regions results in wasted space when single scanning is employed.